Star Ocean: The Specter of Fila
by DiasFlac9087
Summary: When a space craft observing the remains of Energy Nede mysteriously vanishes, you know that it can't be good for everyone's favorite heros! Chapter 3 is now up, and it should clear up any questions about the title! Please review if you like!
1. Prologue

*As much as I would love to, I do not own any Star Ocean or anything related to it! Don't worry, comedy and actual Star Ocean characters coming in the next chapters! Review and tell me what you think!*

The tattered remains of what once a planet moved slowly across space, unnoticed. To the casual observer, it would have appeared to have been dead. And it was. A passing spaceship watched on, observing. Inside, the private walked up to the captain's quarters, knocking on the door. "Come in," a voice came from inside. The private walked in, saluting the captain. He returned the gesture, and waved his hand. "Go ahead and give your report."

The private relaxed. "There continues to be no signs of life on Energy Nede."

The captain nodded. "As we've expected. We've been at this almost a year, I highly doubt anything is going to happen this late in the expedition. And since this is our last day, I think that its safe to say that this planet is dead. The threat is finally over. Dismissed!"

The private returned to his quarters, pulling out a letter from his wife back home on Earth. "Finally, I get to go home! I bet young Johnny will be glad to see me again!" He grinned and put the letter away. "Might as well get some sleep, tomorrow will be a big day." He laid his head down, dreaming of getting back to his family.

Far below the ship, on Energy Nede, a strange light shone near the ruins of the city of Fienal. Moments later, the alarm on the space craft began going wild. The captain rushed to the control room. "What on Earth is going on?!" he yelled frantically.

"We're under attack!" one of his lieutenants cried. "I've powered up the shields, but we can't locate the source of...." An attack rocked the ship, causing the lights to go out.

"What? The radar doesn't show any other craft in this sector! It...it can't be!!" the captain mused. "Scan the surface of the planet!" he shouted, giving orders to his crew.

Another blast shook the bridge, causing the lights to go out. One of the engineers looked towards the captain desperately. "Our...shields are down, captain."

The captain sat down in his chair in despair. "Well men, this may well be our last hour. There's just one thing I want to say to you all. We've been together for awhile now, and it looks like we're going to be buried together. I'd just like to share with you something my father once told me, when I was a young boy. Sometimes in life, you..."  
The final blast punched right through the ship, incinerating the crew and the interior.


	2. Chapter One: A New Face

*Once again, I don't own anything. Except maybe Vincent!! Hahah!! He's mine!*

Dias Flac stared down the edge of his sword at his next opponent. He looked like a boy in his early twenties, with brown hair cut short and cold blue eyes that shot icicles towards the experienced swordsman. Dias averted his gaze from his adversary to the crowd around him. He ran a hand through his long blue hair, anticipating the start of the battle. A voice rang out through the stadium.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the final round of this years Tournament of Arms, proudly held as always in the fine city of Lacour! It's been a thrilling day so far, and this final round could prove to be the most exciting round yet!"

The crowd cheered wildly, sensing the start of the match was finally close at hand. The announcer cleared his throat and continued. "This final round pits the champion of last years Tournament, Dias Flac, versus a new face to the Tournament, known only as Vincent, who's fought tenaciously in every previous round to emerge as a star here. This announcer would like to compare this year's finale to the contest last year, which pitted Dias Flac against another newcomer, Claude Kenni. It's a shame that young man didn't show up this year, I think he could have taken the show! But enough chat! Let the fight begin!!"

Dias leapt into action before the younger man even had his sword up. He closed the distance between the two in less than a second and brought his sword down in a diagonal slash across the chest. Vincent brought his sword up at the last second, parrying the blow, but now he was on the defensive. Dias whirled towards Vincent, his sword dancing up and down, scoring a few minor hits that Vincent let get through. Vincent growled, not enjoying the fact that had been unable to launch his own offense thus far. He laughed out loud as Dias did a back flip, stopping his attacks and taunting Vincent. Vincent took the opportunity, lifting his sword in the air and charging at the cocky warrior. Dias smirked and slammed his sword into the ground. A wave of dark blue flames enveloped the charging warrior, knocking him to the ground. The announcer's voice once again filled the stadium.

"The winner of this year's Tournament of Arms, for the second year in a row, is Dias Flac!!" Behind him, the crowd went wild, cheering as loudly as ever. Dias walked over to where Vincent lay and held out his hand to him.

"Nice fight kid, I almost broke a sweat. Don't feel bad, I was born with a sword in my hand," Dias said.

Vincent stared coldly at Dias, ignoring the offered hand and getting to his feet on his own. "You got lucky, Flac. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important business to attend to." Vincent ran out of the stadium while the King of Lacour walked up to Dias.

"Congratulations my boy! Another good show! I'm beginning to see why the monsters of El never had a chance!" the king said, offering his hand to Dias in congratulations.

Dias chuckled, thinking to himself about what had really happened in El. He stuck his hand out to shake the king's hand, but something on the ground caught his eye. Ignoring the king, he bent over and picked up the strange object. "Vincent..." Dias said simply, running out of the stadium after the youth. The king stared after him, quite annoyed. "Well, that certainly was rude," he commented.


	3. Chapter Two: A New (Hair)Do

*I don't own anything. Except the barrel! It's mine! Hah! ALL MINE!*

Ashton Anchors ran into the Jean Pharmacy, screaming at the top of his lungs. "BOWMAN!! BOWMAN!!! ARE YOU HERE? I NEED HELP!!"

A very tired Bowman Jean stumbled in from the back room, still in pajamas and rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Ashton, this had better be good! It's three o'clock in the morning! If this is just another one of your..." Bowman stopped and stared at Ashton as he flicked the lights on. "Uh, Ashton...you...uh..."  
"That's right!! That medicine you gave me for that headache did this!" He reached his hand up and pointed an accusing finger at his hair. It's once dark brown had now been turned into a very, very hot pink. The two dragons that were on his shoulders, Gyoro and Ururun, had both put paper bags on their head, ashamed to be seen in public like this. Bowman stared at Ashton a few more moments, then broke out in a hysterical laughter. Ashton glared at him. "It's not funny, Bowman! I have an important date tomorrow!"

That just cracked Bowman up even more. It took him a full minute to stop laughing. He finally settled down and put his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Sorry, you're right, it's not funny," he said, still slightly chuckling. "Stay here, I'll go see what I can do about it." He went off into the back to study his medical books.

"Thanks Bowman!" Ashton called after him. He walked over and took a seat, waiting patiently. A snickering sound came from the two paper bags on his shoulders. Reaching behind him, Ashton smacked the two dragons in the back of the head. "Shut up! It's your body too!" That silenced the two dragons, who slouched behind Ashton's back. They began communicating telepathically.

_"Hehe!! He thinks that it was Bowman's drugs that did it!"_

"I knew that'd be a great prank!"

"Except we forgot that we'd have to put up with it too!"  
"Oh well, we might as well live it up while we can!"

Ashton stood up after waiting a few minutes and began looking around Bowman's shop. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a barrel. "Must...resist...urge...." Ashton muttered, his hands twitching. However, his feet began moving of their own accord, bringing him right in front of the barrel. His hands trembling, he reached down, eager to find what treasures lie inside.

A voice from the back interrupted his trance. "Ashton, if you so much as touch that barrel, I swear I'll turn the rest of you pink!" Bowman walked into the front and motioned for Ashton to have a seat, glaring at him all the while. Ashton looked longingly at the barrel, then followed Bowman over to the table. "Okay kid, from what I've found, there's no medical reason for your hair to have changed color. Are you sure that Precis didn't pull some prank on you or something? It's the only explanation I can think of."

Ashton looked thoughtful for a minute, then shook his head. "Oh no, Precis would never do something like that!"

Bowman laughed and slapped Ashton on the back. "We're talking about the same girl here, right?"

Ashton sighed. "Of course it was her! It makes perfect sense! But this time, she's gone too far!!" He stood up, a determined glint in his eyes. "I must come back at her with a prank ten times worse!" He ran out of the pharmacy, laughing like a madman. 

Bowman stared after him, shaking his head. "Poor girl. She'll never see this coming. Sigh. At the very least....he could have offered to let me help. That girl's got it coming!" He stood up, stretched, and walked back into his bedroom, falling asleep.


	4. Chapter Three: Evil (partially) Shows It...

*Note* Once again, I don't own anything affiliated with Star Ocean, except one copy of the game! And that's why this story is here! And, we get to meet the other new main character this chapter, along with the introduction of everyone's favorite pair of Tetragenes!

Far away from the Jean Pharmacy in Linga, in a secluded forest near the village of Mars, a young Heraldic Mage walked solemnly down one of the less-traveled paths, her eyes glancing back and forth at the various plant life. She wiped the sweat from her brow and cursed silently under her breath. "How hard can it be to find one blasted plant? If this is another one of Ivan's tricks, I swear I'm going to..."

Behind her and to the left, a twig snapped. The girl whirled around, staff in hand. Her eyes scanned the vegetation around her tensely, looking for any threat. She breathed a sigh of relief a few moments later when a small rabbit scurried out of the brush. At the sight of her, the rabbit froze, then scurried back in the direction it came. The young mage relaxed her grip on the staff and turned back to the trail. "How silly of me to get so nervous by something so small as a rabbit!" she laughed.

After another hot hour of walking through the forest, she sat leaning against a tree, taking a short break from her search. "Ugh, if I had known it was going to be this hard, I would at least have brought something to drink" she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the nice breeze and taking in the sounds. The chirps of the birds. The wind rustling through the leaves. The sound of water cascading through the forest.

She snapped her eyes open at that. "The river!!" She pulled a map out from her pack. "According to this, the herb should be located just across the river!" She packed her map up and gathered her things, starting out towards the sound of the river.

Not far behind the girl, a group of men stood at attention. A man dressed in dark blue armor paced back and forth in front of them, his sword at his side. With one motion of his hand, the men saluted, then fell in step behind him, heading in the direction of the river.

The girl arrived at the river, bending down to take a drink before she continued on. Another twig snapped behind her. Ignoring it, she filled her canteen with water, and began taking in the sights. "I really hope it doesn't take too much longer. I'm not sure if Mother will survive..."

The crack of a large limb being stepped on and the sound of a sword being drawn out of its sheath drew her attention to her back. A harsh voice rang out. "Alyssa Lantis, I presume? I'm afraid that you're going to have to come with me."

The girl whirled around, grabbing her staff from her side. A man in dark blue armor brandished a sword, flanked by four men in similar but less extravagant garbs. "That's me! What's it to you?" she asked.

The lead man stepped forward, pointing his sword at her in an intimidating fashion. "As I said, you're going to have to come with me. My....associates....wish to speak with you on certain matters."

"You're crazy if you think I'm going to go with you! If your "associates" want to talk to me, they're gonna have to make an appointment just like everyone else!" Alyssa said.

"I'm afraid that this is a most pressing matter. And since I see you are not going to cooperate, I am prepared to take you by force!" the lead man said. He waved his hand, and the four men around him advanced on Alyssa, their swords drawn and waving dangerously in the air.

Alyssa sighed and closed her eyes, concentrating. The first two men charged, covering half of the distance to the mage in a mere second. They never made it the other half, though, as a flame emitted from Alyssa's staff in a wave, incinerating both aggressors in their footsteps. The other men hesitated. The more brazen of the two stepped forward, then broke into a run, not wanting to give Alyssa the time to cast another spell. His sword went out wide, arcing towards her left shoulder. Alyssa brought her staff up, parrying it with one end, then bringing the other end smashing towards the warrior's face. He grunted and fell back, minus a few teeth. "You're a tough little girl, but do you really think you can beat me, kid?" the man taunted. Alyssa didn't bother replying, leaping towards the man with her staff leading. It caught him in the stomach, keeling him over. She brought her staff cracking down on the back of his neck, knocking him out of the fight. She raised her staff and studied her remaining opponents. The fourth lackey had ran off into the forest, so it was just her and the ring leader. He stepped forward cockily, brandishing his sword.

"A nice show, miss, but I'm afraid that it's the end of the line for you. I give you one last chance to surrender before I'm forced to hurt you," he said wickedly.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to kick your butt just like I did the others! It's only fair to them!" Alyssa yelled. She closed her eyes in concentration, and let loose a fire ball, engulfing the man. She smirked confidently at her work, then turned her attention back to the river. "It's time to finish what I came here for."

A mocking laughter stopped her in her tracks. She turned around, seeing only smoke. The armored man strolled confidently out of it, still laughing. "I gave you your chance, girl! And now, you're mine!" He held his sword out, a black flame engulfing it.

"But how? Why didn't my spell even hurt yo..agh!!" The flame swept across the ground, slamming Alyssa to the ground. The man waltzed confidently over to her, standing over her.

"You should always know when to quit, girl. You'll live longer that way." He bent down, reaching to pull her to her feet. Alyssa struggled against him. "It's no use, girl! You're coming with me whether you like it or no..."

A noise that sounded like an Explosion spell going off echoed through the forest, and the man went flying a nearby tree. He lay there unmoving. Alyssa rose slowly to her feet and turned to see her rescuers. She stared in amazement at what she saw.

Two figures, one male and one female. The female one was garbed in a black dress with white trim, and was holding a metallic item aimed towards the man. There was smoke coming out from the end. The man had on a white robe trimmed in red, and had a whip at his side. They both looked like experienced warriors, but that wasn't what startled Alyssa. In the middle of each of their foreheads, there was what could only be described as a third eye! (Because that's what it was!) The woman spoke first.

"Hello there! Are you okay?" she asked. "And you know, it's not polite to stare."

Alyssa shook her head angrily. "Okay? Of course I'm okay! No thanks to you! I had him right where I wanted him, and then you go and use your magic stick to blow him away! You could have hit me too!"

"Uh, in case you didn't notice, he was about to kill you!" the woman said.

Alyssa advanced on her. "I had him RIGHT where I wanted him!"

The man stepped between the two. "I'm sure you did, miss, but all that matters is everyone's okay. No sense getting angry if everyone's okay, right?"

Alyssa sighed and relaxed herself. "I suppose. But I could have taken him..."

"I'm sure it's so! By the way, my name is Ernest, Ernest Raviede," the man said.

"I'm Opera Vectra. Sorry we met under such circumstances," the woman said. "What's your name?"  


"My name? It's Alyssa. And I guess it's nice to meet you both," she said.

"So, Alyssa, what are you doing out here in the forest?" Ernest asked. "It's not the kind of place a lady would generally go alone."

"First off, I can take care of myself! I'm a Heraldic Mage!" Alyssa said proudly. Her voice then softened. "And I'm hear about my mother. She's...well...dieing, and I had heard that the only place to get a cure was this forest. But, it was only a rumor, I think." She sighed. "She desperately needs a cure, and fast."

Opera looked thoughtful, then spoke up. "Well, Miss Alyssa, we were just on our way to the continent of Lacour. We have a friend there by the name of Bowman Jean, and he's the best darn pharmacist on Expel! If anyone can cure your mom, it'd be him! If you want to accompany us, we'd be glad to help!"

Alyssa thought for a minute, then smiled. "Actually, that'd be great! I think this forest was beginning to be a dead end anyways, and I've always wanted to go to Lacour! I'd love to go, if you don't mind."  
  
Ernest nodded. "It'll be nice to have such lovely company along with us!" Opera glared at him, but he ignored it. "Just stick with us kid, and your mother will be fine in no time!"

Alyssa followed the pair out of the forest. When they were far gone, the armored man stood up, rubbing his head. "So, the plot thickens. No trouble, this only makes things more interesting for me..."

*Oh! Alyssa "**Lantis**", if I caught that right!! I think most SO vets know what that means! And what's with this dude who seems content to catch her? And who could his "associates" be? Find out next time! Well, actually not next time, because next we have a pretty funny installment featuring Dias and Vincent, then we get to the hilarious exploits of Ashton's plans for revenge! So, maybe after that we'll find out! More SO characters re-introduced next chapter too! Please review if you've enjoyed this!* 


End file.
